Become a Certified Sales Professional Langara College Online Course
I wanted to personally introduce you to a program that can immediately help you boost your company revenues and personal career. It’s said that nothing happens until someone sells something. We teach a lot of companies how to use social media to build brand, community and drive leads to that business… but someone still needs to know how to sell to turn that into revenues.
Working with Langara College, international speaker Bill Gibson of Knowledge Brokers (South Africa) and our team here at Socialized we have put together the ultimate sales training program for new sales professionals and professionals that want to add a revenue generating toolkit to their repertoire. The methodologies in this program have been successfully used and implemented by major sales organizations including BMW, ABSA Bank, Gestetner, Vodacom, Siemens and Ford to name a few.
Here’s a quick video we shot where Shane Gibson (me) facilitator of the program walks you through what you will learn.
Our next program starts soon and here are the dates:
Successful Selling Strategies
(50203) Jan. 14, 2013
Persuasion, Communication & Relationship Building
(50204) Feb. 12, 2013
Motivation, Closing & Keeping Clients
(50205) Mar. 11, 2013
Sales & Planning Toolkit
(50206) Apr. 8, 2013
Each course is 18 hours in duration held over a six week period and consists of weekly reading, presentations, group discussions and live webinars. If participants can’t make the date and time of the live-webinar there will be an opportunity to watch a recorded version. All courses have testing built-in and each participant must have a passing grade in all courses to be eligible for the certificate.
- Successful Selling Strategies
- Persuasion, Communication & Relationship Building
- Motivation, Closing & Keeping Clients
- Sales & Planning Toolkit
Double Double by Cameron Herold – Book Interview (Podcast)
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Today’s podcast is an interview with Cameron Herold on his brand new book “Double Double – How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less.” I read this book twice I found it so valuable and so I reached out to Cameron and asked him to come on the show.
If you’re a business leader, entrepreneur or business builder you need to read this book. It’s packed with usable real-world advice and success strategies.
Social Media Speaker Video: Going Social with CRM #SCRM 41:28
I recently delivered the keynote speaker address to CDC Software’s CRM conference in Las Vegas. This is one of the most recent social media for sales professionals talks I have done and it’ not just a promo clip. Here’s the full 41 minutes on “Going Social with CRM – How Social Media is Turning Sales Upside-down:
Here are the slides to go with the presentation:
Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years. He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down. When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. a social media agency and training organization.
Outsourcing Automation and Building Virtual Teams
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Today’s podcast is on Outsourcing Automation and Building Virtual Teams. My guest today is Stephen Jagger (who is also my co-author for Sociable!) co-founder of Ubertor and Outsourcingthingsdone.com. They have a 150 seat office in Manila where they supply North American tech firms, Realtors and a variety of other industries with virtual team members.
I asked Stephen to come on the show to discuss best practices in the area of outsourcing and the technology needed to lead virtual teams.
Should you let your sales team publish content using social media?
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Today’s podcast answers the question “Should you let your sales team publish content using social media?” I cover 5 reasons sales professionals should not be publishing content on social media and 13 reasons they should be. Here’s a brief summary of what is covered:
5 reasons why you should not let your sales team publish content using social media:
- You have hired idiots – even if you trained them they would just be motivated idiots.
- You have so much profitable business that you couldn’t handle any more
- Your product really sucks
- Your company and culture really suck
- You haven’t or will not equip them with
– The rules of engagement and a social media policy
– Training in the tools of engagement
– Accountability in place – once engaged it’s game on – have a framework support and accountability.
10 reasons why you should let your sales team publish content using social media:
- “It’s not marketing it’s talking to customers” – Scott Stratten of UnMarketing
- It adds to value added frequency
- It opens up new channels
- It can save time
- Load balance your branding
- Social CRM is the next big thing – are you cruising or are you road kill (Social CRM Podcast)
- Immediate data instead of compiled and stale data
- It makes them almost as smart as your customer
- You can see the activity
- It builds a passive pipeline and makes projections easier “If you’re talking to unqualified prospects it’s not a sales problem, it’s a marketing problem” – Zero Rejection Prospecting (Michael J Durkin and Norbert Orlewicz)
- It builds a fence around the customer
- It creates joy
- It elevates sales people above pitch artist to trusted advisor
Social Media for B2B Marketing and Sales
A common question I get from business to business focused marketers and sales professionals is: “Does social media marketing and social networking really work in the B2B space?”
I posed this same question to Jeff Booth CEO of Builddirect.com and here was the answer he gave me:
“Social media is not really about B2C or B2B it’s about P2P or person-to-person communications and adding value.” – Jeff Booth CEO Builddirect.com (the worlds largest online wholesaler of building supplies.)
The reality is that the majority of decision makers or their direct influencers use the web to find information on a vendor and the individual employees they are dealing with. I have compiled a short list of resources and blogs that you may find useful in deciding is social media marketing will work for your organization.
Here are some statistics and quotes regarding social media in the commercial space:
…69% of B2B buyers use social networks “primarily for business networking and development.” (About.com)
…Stereotypes may have C-level executives delegating research to others, but the study reveals that 53% prefer to search the Web and locate information themselves. – Google and Forbes Insights Study (2009)
Social media is not a separate silo or discipline, in fact, companies in the Business-to-Business space like Builddirect.com, Oracle, SAP, Intel, Accenture, GE, and Siemens have found that is most effective when integrated with existing sales and marketing processes. They also have found it has given them a significant advantage over their less socially engaged competitors. (An entire engagement study can be found at http://engagementdb.com )
B2B Social Media Reading and Resources:
- Video: “Vital Statistics for B2B Marketers”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQdy-22TXM“
- 20 Support Cases for Using Social Media in B2B Marketing” http://www.savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/122161/20-support-cases-for-using-social-media-in-b2b-marketing
- “A fascinating B2B Social Media Success Story” http://businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/a-fascinating-hardcore-b2b-social-media-success
- “5 B2B Social Media Success Stories” http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2010/05/b2b-social-media-success.html
- “30 B2B Social Media Resources” http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6379/30-Awesome-B2B-Social-Media-Resources.aspx
- “The Definitive Case for B2B Social Media Marketing” – Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/1665075/the-definitive-case-for-b2b-social-media-marketing
- “7 Reasons Why Social Media is for Sales” – http://bettercloser.com/7-reasons-social-media-sales/
Creating a Sales Culture in Your Organization
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Many organizations want to create a sales culture but many also fail at doing so. Today’s podcast covers nine lessons around creating sales culture that I have learned while helping non-sales organizations create sales culture:
- You need buy-in
- It’s really about creating an opportunity culture
- You need to reward people, that means everyone
- “What gets inspected gets respected” – Trevor Greene
- Move poor fits out quick, and hire the right people
- Feed the monster – train and develop continually
- Fix operations if they don’t support sales
- Fix products and services that don’t meet needs or fulfill promises
- It takes time, up to 18 months or longer before true leadership evolves
Free Goal Setting Guide for 2010 by Bill Gibson
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Bill Gibson Chair of Knowledge Brokers International has put together a condensed goal setting guide called “Get a Fast Start for 2010.” You can download the PDF free here or you can view it via Scrib below. Enjoy!
Bill Gibson Free Goal Setting Guide
Leading and Collaborating with Generation Y
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I’m doing a seminar on December 2nd in Victoria and December 3rd in Vancouver and thought I would share some of what I will be talking about with you in my podcast. Today’s focus is on how to engage, lead and train Generation Y / Millenials in the workplace. This demographic is much maligned and misunderstood.
More information on the seminars here:
Seminar Details
“Leading and collaborating with stakeholders and employees in a hyper connected marketplace.”
With employees, customers and stakeholders equipped with technology that allows for mass collaboration and rapid communication we as leaders need to understand how to harness this technology and the crowds we are connected to.
Today’s workplace is not a homogeneous one. As leaders we have to lead teams that are made up of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. This coupled with diverse cultures and values in the workplace make leading both exciting and challenging.
In this session Shane Gibson will cover core trends, leadership tools and opportunities that are associated with today’s digitally connected and diverse marketplace.
Key topics include:
• New rules for engagement in a digitally transparent era.
• Web 2.0 collaboration and learning tools.
• Creating an environment that is productive and engaging for the millennial / Gen Y.
• Tips and approaches for recruiting staff using tools like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.
• Using technology to break down silos and create collaboration within your organization.
• How to apply timeless leadership principles to this new work and business climate
CMA Testimonial
“I found the seminar (Partnering & Stakeholder Relationships, November 2009) very beneficial. Shane did a great job on the presentation and communicating the message. I would highly recommend his sessions to my fellow CMAs.”
Sanjeev Lal, CMA, Abbotsford
Register for Victoria, December 2nd 2009 Seminar
Register for Vancouver, December 3rd 2009 Seminar
28 Ways to Improve Your Sales Results
I had a number of people (close to 300) complete the 28 Days to Better Selling Program I put on in May and June. Many of you were asking when I was going to do it again? My next one will be in the fall but it will be marketing focused. With that said, you can do the 28 Days to Better Selling Program at your own pace by following the links below.
Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:
1) A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2) A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement
By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business. The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.
Day 2 Targeting the Right Referral Sources
Day 3 Prospecting in Person
Day 4 Networking Strategy
Day 5 LinkedIn Prospecting
Day 6 Investigative Prospecting
Day 7 Lead Nurturing
Day 8 Don’t Be A Boring Salesperson
Day 9 Listening in Sales
Day 10 Needs Analysis in Sales Part 1
Day 11 Needs Analysis In Sales Part 2
Day 12 Twitter for Sales Part 1
Day 13 Twitter for Sales Part 2
Day 14 Keeping Commitments
Day 15 Selling Benefits and Results
Day 16 Preemptive Objection Handling
Day 17 Sell the Price Different Not The Total Cost
Day 18 Vital Signs
Day 19 Preparing For a Sales Call
Day 20 Team Selling
Day 21 Just Thinking About You
Day 22 Team Players Make Efficient Sellers
Day 23 Day of Rest, Chill Out and Reflect 
Day 24 Influencing Top Level Decision Makers
Day 25 Key Skills and Strengths for Selling Intangibles
Day 26 Reducing Anxiety and Worry
Day 27 15 Ways to Close A Sale
Day 28 Operationalizing Your Sales Process
Want to Close Bigger Deals? Buy the Book:
Sales Skills are Part of a Good Social Media Strategy
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The last podcast I did was about “Getting Real in Social Media” and this is an extension of that. I’m a big proponent of the use of social media marketing and social networking in business. With that said, often social media helps us start a relationship, it can also help us nurture a relationship, but there are core sales skills needed to turn those relationships into revenues. There are dozens of core sales competencies but for this podcast I want to focus on three that social media marketers need to master:
#1) They need to master the art of Rapport Building
#2) They need to get good at Needs Analysis Selling
#3) They need to understand how to sell what people buy, and it’s not features, price or technology
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